Father Balder
Father Balder is the main antagonist of The Game. He is also Bayonetta's Father, although she rejects him for the destruction he has caused. He is the last remaining member of the Lumen Sages, a clan that belonged to light whilst the Umbran Witches belonged to the dark. However, he violated the chief tenet of both the clans when he and an Umbra Witch bore a child together. That child was none other than Bayonetta herself. He was also the one responsible for starting the chain of events that lead to the Umbran Witch Burnings. In addition, Balder is the one who holds the Right Eye of the World. Goal His ambition is to revive Jubileus, The Creator, so that a new universe can be created in place of the current one. In order to do this, he needs to awaken the stones known as the Eyes of the World. In order to awaken Bayonetta's Left Eye, he must force her to remember the past that was sealed from her. In order to do this he brings Cereza to the present so that Bayonetta's memories will awaken the Eye, for Cereza's innocence is required to do so. Appearance He mostly appears in the game as a voice speaking to Bayonetta throughout her adventure (often referring to her as "My Dear, Sweet Child"). His first appearance in person is on Chapter XVI in which he explains everything to Bayonetta (about how Cereza is Bayonetta's past self, the fact that he was the one responsible for the events that lead to the Umbra Witch Hunts and how he used Jeanne to lure her (Bayonetta) to him and to awaken The Left Eye of the World). He also revealed that he was also the one responsible for the death of Antonio Redgrave. Description Father Balder first appears wearing a white robe draped in gold patterns. Notable features include a gold mask that covers the left side of his face, with a monocle covering his left eye, and a peacock draped over his shoulders with its feathers arching around Balders head. His skin looks noticeably pale/blue, giving him a deathly appearance. According to the game he is 500+ years old as we see him today. When he absorbs Cereza, and proceeds to fight, his appearance changes somewhat. His robe changes colour from white to gold, and the gold patterns become blue and all proceed to a circle on Balder's chest which has a blue appparitious head of Cereza protruding. The peacock feathers grow to about seven times in length and sway about during movement, although strangely, the peacock itself seems to disappear. from the look of the model, these could in fact be wings. After this battle, Balder reverts to his first appearance, but lacks the peacock and mask, which may have been destroyed after the battle. Abilities As the last of the Lumen Sages and the Right Eye of Jubileus, Balder is incredibly powerful. Using only a tiny fraction of his power, Balder was able to fling Luka out of a window (breaking several walls in the process) and to stop time with his Light Speed technique. And even having the abilty to revert Bayonetta back to normal mode when she uses her Serious mode. During combat, he shows more of his abilities, including being able to fly, create a variety of energy attacks such as a swordlike weapon from his hand, summon balls of energy that arch around him which can be thrown simultaniously at enemies and he is also able to use high-level telekinesis evidenced by when he rips buildings out of the ground. He also commands a satellite based particle beam weapon orbiting the planet that produces a concentrated blast of energy to shoot down unsuspecting targets, he commands the satellite using the power of his mind. He is also capable of destroying more than one of Bayonetta's Infernal Demons and using the dead demon to fully replenish his vitality. His endurance is impressive as he appears almost unfazed when a building is thrown at him. Lastly he is able to create angelic barriers to protect himself from bullets. It can also be argued that even with such a display of power against Bayonetta, Father Balder was still holding back his power. After all, he needed her to awaken the Left Eye of the World, and she would be of no use to him dead. Battle with Bayonetta and Revival of Jubileus After he reveals everything (and tosses Luka out of a window), Balder attacks Bayonetta and the two of them engage in a fight. In the end, Bayonetta shoots him with her lipstick from her gun, saying the line "Don't fuck with a witch." though this only served to further his plans, as soon after, she returns Cereza to the past which inadvertently, on Bayonetta's part, activated the Eyes of the World. Balder then re-appears and carries Bayonetta's prone form to the left eye of Jubileus where they are then shot into space. Eventually, Jeanne regains her senses and chases after them, intending to rescue Bayonetta or as she puts it, her "Umbran sister". As a result of saving Bayonetta, however, the statue loses control and before the battle against Jubileus, Balder is left helpless, as he is literally crushed by the statue "in the blink of an eye". Trivia *His name, Balder, is the name of the god of the light and of beauty in Norse mythology. *The battle with Balder is similar to Dante's battle with the The Despair Embodied from Devil May Cry 2, who attacks in a very similar manner, alternating between sword and whip-like attacks while deftly circling around their foes. *Balder possesses some small similarties to the Resident Evil antagonist Albert Wesker in terms of appearance, personality, and goals. Both were powerful, wealthy, intelligent, but mentally unstable individuals obsessed with killing off humanity and replacing it with their own ideal world without any concern for the well-being of others, including their own allies. Finally, prior to their own deaths, they were owners of powerful international corporations that used a false image as a cover up for playing a part with superhuman monstrosities and they had manipulated events from behind the scenes while leaving their own identities shrouded in mystery. *Balder is voiced by Liam O'Brian, who was also known for doing the voice of the Devil May Cry 4 antagonist Sanctus. *A slight similarity Balder shares with Sanctus is that they both required a descendent of a powerful family (Nero and Dante were the descendents of Sparda, the demon who Sanctus worshipped, and Bayonetta/Cereza being a descendent of the Umbra Clan and Balder himself.) in order to awaken a powerful colossus that posed a threat to not only the human world, but the demon world as well. However, Jubileus would, in a sense, also pose a threat to Paradiso when she went berserk from not having Bayonetta/Cereza serve as one of the eyes. *Balder's wings during the boss battle may be a reference to the fallen angel Lucifer, said to have assumed the guise of a twelve winged angel as one of his forms, and was considered the highest of all angels. The fact that Balder is considered a traitor to the Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches, while convincing people to his cause of slaughtering the Witches, fits with the Lucifer myth as well; Lucifer rallied a third of the heavenly host to take over Heaven. *In the Lumen Sage scene, Cereza is seen sitting on his lap, while Balder was using magic to put lipstick on Cereza, and also to bloom a cherry blossom to put in Cereza's hair. *Balder was apparently only twelve years old when he fathered Cereza. Quotes *"My name is Balder. But if you so choose to, you may address me as Father." * "The Trinity of Realities wrapped up in a Vortex of creation!" * "My, oh my..." * "My dear, sweet child. Fear not. For I am watching over you." *"The time has come to awaken "The Eyes of the World"." *"May Jublieus, The Creator grace you!". Character Relationships * Rosa - Wife * Bayonetta/Cereza - Daughter Category:Characters Category:Bosses Category:Males